The Catcher in the Rye is a psychological novel based more on
how events affect the hero’s mind than on the events themselves;
therefore, the actual plot is not as important as the psychological
analysis behind the action. In truth, the plot is only a loosely
strung set of incidents that are combined to reveal four days in
the life of Holden Caulfield. The novel is episodic in nature, and
the bulk of it is narrated in the form of flashbacks. The plot is
also supplemented with a number of digressions, which help to
reveal more about the various characters, especially Holden
himself.

Holden’s journey begins on a Saturday in December just before
school closes for Christmas break. He has been informed of his
expulsion from Pencey Prep School. What worries him most
about being kicked out of school is his parents’ reaction, for he
has already been expelled from other educational institutions. He
cannot bear to remain in the dormitory after he has been beaten
up by his roommate Stradlater and on a whim, he decides to
leave the same night. However, he does not want to face his
parents until they have recovered from the news of the expulsion.
He decides to stay in a cheap hotel in New York City, going
home only on the day he was originally expected.

The novel charts Holden’s experiences over a period of about forty hours,
starting from the time he leaves Pencey Prep. Holden encounters a large
number of people as he traverses the city of New York and goes into nightclubs.
Lonely and desperate, he accepts the offer of the hotel elevator operator
to find him a prostitute, but he fails to have sex with her and fights
with her pimp. The next day, he calls an old girlfriend, Sally Hayes,
takes her ice-skating, and tries to convince her to run away with him.

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Holden looks for some degree of understanding and acceptance
from all the characters he encounters, even taxi drivers, but he is
denied his needs. As a result, Holden feels dislocated, as though
he does not belong anywhere, and he is right. It becomes obvious
through his encounters that he is in an entirely different orbit
than the rest of the world. Each time Holden extends himself, he
is rewarded with rejection, until he is finally driven to almost a
schizophrenic state. With his mental health deteriorating, Holden
returns to his parents’ home, where things are no better for him.
Even his young sister, Phoebe, questions his negativism and asks
him to name one thing he would like to be. Holden replies that he
would like to be "the catcher in the rye" and explains that his job
would be to prevent the children, who are playing nearby in a
field of rye, from going over the cliff. More distressed than ever,
Holden goes to see Mr. Antolini, his former English teacher.
When the teacher makes sexual advances, Holden flees in horror.
Returning home, Holden experiences a complete mental
breakdown and is sent to a psychiatric center in California for
treatment.